“Revitalizing Munich’s Landmark: The Transformation of Former Karstadt Sports into ‘Herzog Max'”

But Munich residents who stroll through the pedestrian zone should also benefit from today’s major construction site: For decades, Herzog-Max-Strasse between Karstadt Sports and the Oberpollinger department store was a neglected and unattractive alley in the middle of the old town.

More trees for the Munich pedestrian zone

Now the owner of the “Herzog Max”, Euro Real Estate from Wilhelm von Finck’s group of companies, and the project developer Accumulata are planning to plant trees here. Under them, Munich residents should be able to eat and drink outdoors in the future. At least that’s the plan.

The house has already been gutted

At the moment you can hardly get through the street. Only a narrow passage remains next to the high wooden fence. Behind it, two cranes tower far above the roofs of the old town. Day after day, they lift concrete parts weighing up to 13 tons from inside the building.

The house was completely gutted once before, in the 1990s. In order to crush the reinforced concrete that was used at the time, the workers had to work with pneumatic hammers and XXL saw blades.

The city of Munich wants to convert Stiglmaierplatz for cyclists and pedestrians

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“Duke Max” in Munich: Spectacular perspectives

They remove walls piecemeal, bore through the projectiles. “We make light,” says the technical project manager Thomas Munck during the exclusive tour for the AZ. These days, the construction site offers many spectacular perspectives.

You can look up at the sky from the ground floor in several places: Two walk-in green inner courtyards with terraces and balconies are created in the huge holes. In addition, a new staircase with daylight from above and a spiral staircase.

Smoking ban throughout “Herzog Max”

In the future, tenants on the upper floors will be able to sunbathe on a roof terrace during breaks and look out over the city’s rooftops. And below, in the narrow backyard, you can see the Stadtgrabenbach flowing by.

The people who will work here in the future are not allowed to smoke. Smoking is banned throughout “Herzog Max”, Munck says in passing.

Public transport of the future: This is how the MVG in Munich is planning the self-driving solo bus

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New library on several floors

If everything goes according to plan, everything will be ready in autumn 2024, a year later than originally planned. Then the employees of the Max Planck Institute can move with their books. The new library will extend over several floors. The ground floor areas on Neuhauser Strasse and Herzog-Max-Strasse will remain accessible to people strolling through the pedestrian zone. They are intended for shops and for gastronomy.

The only thing that will remain from the old Karstadt Sports days are two tunnels to the Oberpollinger. Through one, customers could walk from one house to the other. Of course, that will no longer be possible in “Herzog Max”.